Russia Strikes Ukraine with Hypersonic Missiles in Retaliation

Russia on Sunday carried out overnight strikes on Ukraine using four types of missiles, including the hypersonic Oreshnik, in what Moscow described as retaliation for Kyiv’s attacks on civilian targets inside Russia. According to Russian state news agencies, the strikes involved Oreshnik, Iskander, Kinzhal and Zircon missiles. Interfax quoted the Russian Defence Ministry as saying the attacks targeted Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases and enterprises linked to Ukraine’s military industrial complex. Moscow claimed all the strikes were successful. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile during a mass overnight assault on Kyiv. In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy said the missile struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, though the intended target was not immediately clear. The overnight attack on Kyiv involved 600 strike drones and 90 air, sea and ground launched missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defences reportedly destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles, while around 19 missiles failed to reach their targets. Ukraine’s Air Force said one medium range ballistic missile was launched from Russia’s Kasputin Yar site in the Astrakhan region, which is known as the launch site for the Oreshnik missile. The Air Force did not officially confirm the use of the missile but had earlier warned of a possible launch. At least two people were killed and 56 others injured in the strikes, according to preliminary figures released by local authorities. Explosions were heard near government buildings in central Kyiv, while damage was reported at 40 locations across multiple districts, including residential buildings, schools, supermarkets and warehouses. “It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war," said Kyiv resident Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, whose workplace was damaged in the attack. “I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore, there is no possibility," she added. “My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.” Another resident, 74-year-old Yevhen Zosin, described the moment of impact. “Then there was another explosion and she and I were thrown back like a pin by the shock wave. We both survived, she and I. My apartment was blown to pieces,” he said. In Kyiv’s Shevchenko district, a five storey residential building caught fire after being hit, killing one person, Ukraine’s state emergency service said. Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said a school building was also damaged while civilians were sheltering inside. Russia first used the multiple warhead Oreshnik missile against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024, followed by another strike in the western Lviv region in January. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said the Oreshnik missile travels at 10 times the speed of sound and is capable of penetrating underground bunkers “three, four or more floors down.” Putin also claimed the weapon is immune to missile defence systems and said several such missiles armed with conventional warheads could be as devastating as a nuclear strike.